The India Office was the British government department responsible for the government of British India. For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British It was headed by the Secretary of State for India, who was a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. The office of Secretary of State for India or India Secretary was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and India was brought under direct British rule The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body composed of the most senior government ministers chosen by the Prime Minister
The India Office was established under the provisions of the Government of India Act 1858. The Government of India Act 1858, actually entitled An Act for the Better Government of India, is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (21 & This act transferred the powers and functions of the British East India Company to the Crown, which continued to function as the ultimate ruler of India until 1947, when British India was partitioned into the independent states of India and Pakistan. The Honourable East India Company ( HEIC) referred to most commonly as the East India Company, also historically and colloquially as John Company, or Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Pakistan () officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located in South Asia, Southwest Asia, Middle East and It was unique among the departments of the British government in that it was largely funded out of Indian revenues until the entry into force of Government of India Act 1935. The Government of India Act 1935 ( 26 Geo 5 & 1 Edw 8 c 2) was the last pre-independence constitution of the British Raj.
The India Office was intimately involved in the formation of Indian and Imperial policy throughout its existence. It worked behind the scenes, forming the nexus between the British political, bureaucratic and commercial reality and the Government of India.
As aptly described by Lord George Hamilton -
- "The India Office is a miniature Government in itself. Lord George Francis Hamilton, GCSI, PC ( 17 December 1845 &ndash 22 September 1927) was a British Conservative Party There is not a branch of administrative or executive work connected with the big Government which is not represented inside the Office, and the great bulk of the questions that come on from the Government of India are not trivial or prosaic details of administration, but questions either of importance, or matters upon which there is difference of opinion or controversy, or connected with change or reforms. " Lord George Hamilton, Parliamentary Reminiscences, 1868-1885, p. 68.
The Viceroy of India was the head of the British administration in India (known colloquially as the "British Raj"). The Governor-General of India (or from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) was the head of the British administration in India, and However, he reported to the Secretary of State for India, and through him to the Cabinet.
One major institutional reform - the British Government's takeover of the responsibilities of the East India Company (1858) - and three technical advances - the opening of the London-India telegraph (1865), the opening of the Suez Canal (1869) and the related replacement of sailing ships by faster steam vessels - allowed the British Government, through the Secretary of State for India, to effectively control the Viceroy. Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year The Suez Canal is a Canal in Egypt. Opened in 1869 it allows Water transportation between Europe and Asia without circumnavigation Year 1869 ( MDCCCLXIX) is a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year In turn, the spread of the Indian railway and telegraph system allowed the Viceroy and his secretariat to fully subordinate the Government of India machine. During this process, the India Office provided the bureaucratic and policy ammunition that the Secretaries of State of the late 19th century used to convert the Viceroy and Government of India into little more than the agents of the Government of the United Kingdom.
During the period 1910–1947, successive political reforms led to ever greater decentralization of power within India and the devolution of increased authority to both British Indian officials and Indian politicians. Year 1910 ( MCMX) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year starting The India Office was intimately involved in this process, at times resisting these changes.
As part of the provisions of the Government of India Act 1935, the Burma Office was created to govern the neighbouring Crown colony of Burma. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia. However, it was immediately merged with the India Office, with the Secretary of State for India assuming the responsibilities for Burma as well; he thus became designated as the Secretary of State for India and Burma.
The India Office proper existed until 1947, when India was granted independence and the state of Pakistan was created. The department was then transformed into the Burma Office, which oversaw Burma until its independence the next year. The department was then abolished completely.
In spite of its manifest importance in understanding the history of pre-1947 India, no analytical investigation of the structure and function of the India Office exists for the period beyond 1924. Year 1924 ( MCMXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
India Office Records
Unlike all other British Government records, the records from the India Office (and its predecessor The East India Company) are not in The National Archives at Kew, London, but are deposited in the British Library in London and as such, form part of the Oriental and India Office collection. The National Archives (TNA is a British Governmental organisation created in April 2003 to maintain a National archive for " England, Wales The British Library ( BL) is the National library of the United Kingdom. The catalogue is searchable online in the Access to Archives catalogues. Many of The India office records are freely available online under an agreement that FIBIS have with the British Library. The India Office Records are a very large collection of documents relating to the administration of India from 1600 the date of the establishment of the East India Company The Families In British India Society (FIBIS is an organisation devoted to members with an interest in researching their ancestors and the background against which they led their lives
See also
- Secretary of State for India
- Under-Secretary of State for India
- British Raj
- Governor-General of India
External links
The office of Secretary of State for India or India Secretary was created in 1858 when Company rule in India ended and India was brought under direct British rule This is a list of Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State and Permanent Under-Secretaries of State at the India Office during the period of British rule For usage see British rule in India British Raj ( rāj, lit "reign" in Hindustani) primarily refers to the British The Governor-General of India (or from 1858 to 1947 the Viceroy and Governor-General of India) was the head of the British administration in India, andDapyx Software network: MP3 Explorer | Ebook Manager | Zenithic